Easter Activities

I just announced that our Easter activities have concluded, and Aurora said "What? No more activities!?" How could that be? Okay, I take it back. Chuck said he'd find us an Easter movie to watch and I'm still posting this blog. SO, the Easter activities have ALMOST concluded, and I'd say the weekend was a success. Here's a recap in photos:

Don't feel bad for Aurora... it's true that she only got 5 eggs at the Easter egg hunt, and our girl ran around looking (well after all the eggs were gone) like her life depended on it. But it wasn't her only Easter egg hunt - and those eggs just had tootsie rolls inside (not her favorite). We all had a great weekend with lots of gifts, candy, food, fun activities, a very nice church service, and lots of time with friends and family. Who could ask for anything more? Happy Easter, blog readers!

Camp

Back in California I spent a few years working at summer camp as a Nature Specialist. I thought about that several times this weekend as we enjoyed Nature Storytime at the library, followed by a camping themed birthday party for Aurora's friend Seth. It was such a nice day and such a fun party. They had a nature scavenger hunt, a campfire with s'mores, and several tents set up just for fun.

Seth's mom commented that I held Clark the whole time and must be exhausted. Honestly, it's my busiest time at work and a day off just holding my baby was exactly what we both needed. He got so fussy at about the time I usually head off to work, then realized I wasn't leaving and spent the rest of the day smiling. Today he suddenly started drooling like crazy and it occurred to me that one of these days he's going to sprout teeth, start crawling, and maybe (just maybe) he won't want his mama to hold him so much anymore! I wish we could've stayed in that tent and just camped out together all week.

Faerie Homes & Gardens

This weekend we took a walk through a magical faerie land (Zilker Botanical Gardens) with our sweet little faerie girl. She was so excited that she wore her wings AND made her own crown. It says "CLARK" on top, and I think he approved of the whole situation. You've got to love these smiles...

And his frog legs...  seriously! It was a beautiful day and the gardens are just lovely. There are a bunch of awesome faerie houses hidden all along the trail during this special show, but alas, we didn't see one actual faerie. Aurora and I came to the conclusion that they must only come out at night.

Two Parties

It's pretty common that we'll get invitations for multiple parties in one weekend, but when they overlap or are too close together I usually just choose one. Today we had two parties scheduled for the exact same time and really wanted to go to both, so... we did.

The first was a combination big sister birthday and meet-the-new-baby party for one of Chuck's long-time friends and co-workers. They had a princess bounce house, all sorts of of fun toys, the food was delicious, the baby was adorable, and honestly - we could've hung out there all day.

It's a good thing we didn't because I would've missed wishing my co-worker's baby a happy 1st Birthday! We arrived late to party #2 but still got to visit with lots of friends, enjoy some ice cream, and play outside with their new water table, which was perfect for a hot afternoon.

When we got home, Will was outside playing with his family and Aurora yelled "Yay! Will's outside! Finally something fun for me to do!" HUH? What were we just doing all day!?!? Granted, playing with Will is pretty fun. We ended the day with bubbles, sidewalk chalk and hula hoops.

Clark was such a trooper. He took a morning nap, but I had to cut his early afternoon nap short so that we could leave on time, and that was it. I thought he'd fall asleep in the car or get overtired during dinner, but he just smiled and enjoyed the long afternoon of playing and people watching. Next weekend we have invitations for two birthday parties back-to-back, but we're only going to one...

Catching up

Let me start by saying that I'm sort of an expert at handling daylight savings time with kids. It's true. My little ones have pretty much made the adjustment, but for some reason this time it really affected me! I didn't sleep well on Sunday or Monday and feel like I've spent whole the week trying to catch up... on sleep, at work, and tonight I'm catching up on my blog.

On Sunday I took Aurora to her first meet-up with some new friends. Somebody organized a weekly play group at Valley View Elementary for all the incoming Kindergartners in our area. It was good to meet so many families and Aurora loved the playground. It's a pretty small school, the outdoor areas are great, and the grass is fake! Of course they have the United States painted on the concrete. 

Monday was the Bachelor Finale. This season I got to spend Monday evenings with Sarah, Amelia, Jill and Kate. There's nothing better than good food, good friends, good bad TV, and cute kids!

Last night we went to the library with Grandma, Grandpa, and our neighbor Will to see this crazy percussionist who played all sorts of interesting music. Clarkie loved every minute of it.

Clark is pretty much just a happy little guy who loves most things he's exposed to. Here he is hanging out on Will's swing (while Aurora sweeps the driveway).

And another cute one of Clark on the baby buggy for the first time! Today when I went to pick him up from daycare, he was outside on the buggy with his buddies. What a big boy...

Now that I've caught you up on our activities, I should probably go catch up on my sleep. Good Night!

Puffs

Chocolate Cake

When we were picking out mom's birthday cake in January, dad and I both thought the pineapple upside-down cake looked awesome and I decided right then and there I'd make it for him for his birthday. The truth is, Aurora (and pretty much everybody else) probably wouldn't have liked it all that much. So, he picked out a chocolate cake instead and it was delicious! 

Happy Birthday, Dad!!! Maybe we'll have pineapple upside-down cake for my birthday...

Cutie

Can you even believe our tiny little newborn Clarkie is turning 7-months old!?

In the last month, Clark outgrew all his 6-month clothes and is wearing 9-month outfits. He's a sweet loving boy who can't get enough snuggles from his mama, naps with his daddy, laughs from his sister, smiles and silly noises from his grandpa, and walks with his grandma. He happily goes with the flow at daycare, even when his regular teachers are out sick and his schedule's off. He's drinking lots of milk and growing bigger every day, but hasn't entirely decided if he likes baby food. He sleeps from 8pm to 6am consistently, grabs anything within site and tries to put it in his mouth, but isn't a big drooler. He's SO close to crawling, but not quite there yet. Sometimes I wonder why I ever questioned if I should have a second baby, but I'm glad we waited as long as we did because we got the best kiddo we could've asked for (and the 4 year spacing is perfect). Happy 7-month birthday to our little cutie!

Blue Skies

This was the kind of weekend that makes me miss having 3-day weekends. Saturday morning we had breakfast with my dad followed by fun at the park. It was a bit cool but such a nice, clear morning.

Afterwards we headed over to our neighbor's house for their son Will's first birthday party! Aurora LOVES Will, and she was not only a guest; she was the entertainment AND she helped Will open presents and blow out candles. We all had a great time.

A few days ago we went to pajama story time at the library with Will, and many evenings after work Aurora will just run over to his house to play. Today she got to spend much of the day playing with her friend Presley. Her family picked Aurora up this morning and they all headed out to the kite festival. They had lunch at the lake (the girls had Shirley Temples), and Aurora actually got to fly a kite!

While she was gone, we dropped Clark with my parents and went out for a quiet brunch and afternoon of walking, talking, and shopping. It was so relaxing, seriously yummy, and just about the most perfect weather anybody could ask for. This evening we enjoyed one last bit of blue skies sitting outside, having dinner with my friend Daniela. If only we could have one more day like this before heading back into the work week...